


a rope in hand

by fiveyaaas, light_loves_the_dark



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark Five, F/M, Heavy Petting, Humor, Jealousy, Luther Hargreeves is Confused, Luther Hargreeves is Tired, Luther Hargreeves is a good brother, Making Out, Old Man Five, Older Man/Younger Woman, Older Woman/Younger Man, Oops, Possessive Behavior, Pseudo-Incest, Romance, Season 2 Episode 8: The Seven Stages, Shotgun Wedding, That Meme of Spiderman Pointing At Himself, There are so many issues in this fic I literally forgot, This Fic is Confusing, Tori writes god-tier Old Man Five, Uninformed Narrator, Vanya is Powerful, and Five is into It, and then I made him Shady, lots of subtext, oh right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26410657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiveyaaas/pseuds/fiveyaaas, https://archiveofourown.org/users/light_loves_the_dark/pseuds/light_loves_the_dark
Summary: “I’ll give you the briefcase, but I want something in return,” he says finally, gaze returning to Vanya.“I imagined you would,” Five cuts in. “Now, I’ve perfected the equations you’re about to use-”“None of that nonsense,” he dismisses. “In exchange for the briefcase, I’d like an hour alone with our sister.”-aka the one about two jealous old men, a shotgun marriage, and luther nearly having an aneurysm.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 47
Kudos: 274





	a rope in hand

**Author's Note:**

> hope you guys enjoy! tori (an absolute joy and godsend) and i tag-teamed this. The beginning and end are mine (aka luther's pov in present tense!) and the middle is hers (aka vanya's pov in past tense!)
> 
> this arose from a tumblr prompt that somehow 200+ people have reblogged, so it was pretty much obligatory for me to expand on it. tori graciously is writing soft old man five for me, bc i only have dark five capabilities.
> 
> (for those who've read it, this kinda takes place in the 'lost myth of true love' 'verse, though you don't have to read that to understand this! just for those who might wonder why exactly vanya is with five and luther.) 
> 
> title from hozier

This is a bad idea. Luther knows this, has known this since Five brought it up, but once they step into the bar, once he spots the older, mustached gentleman at the bar, he’s certain of it. 

He throws an arm across Five’s chest to stop him from marching straight up to his former self, easily breaking his stride. Knowing that Five could easily jump past him, he hurries to speak. “Stop,” he half-shouts, wincing when the sound carries. “Look,” he begins again, voice lowered now that he has Five’s attention. “You’re.. you’re him. You’re going to freak him out stomping up to him like that.” He pauses, giving up trying to figure out Five’s cold expression. Instead, he looks past Five’s shoulder at his smallest sister, who Five has kept half-hidden behind him ever since the both of them had come tumbling into the alley where they were supposed to go back to the future.

Neither one has truly told him what happened; when Luther questions the way Vanya seems to lean away from him, tiny hand wrapped around Five’s bicep, Five merely tells him that she has retrieved her memories. The tone of his voice discourages conversation, and Luther realizes that Vanya now remembers the way he locked her in a cage. He doesn’t know how to apologize, not when he’s still unsure whether what he did was truly wrong, so he keeps his distance.

“One of us should go,” he finished, keeping his gaze on Vanya. He wants to include her in the conversation; that is definitely a mistake he’s made, and he swears he’ll do his best to rectify it.

She smiles faintly at him, and he beams back. Progress. “I’ll go,” she volunteers, moving to circle Five.

Before she can take more than half a step, Five’s hand darts out, fast as lightning, gripping her wrist. “No,” he denies. There is a low, cold firmness to his tone that is incongruous with his youthful face. “You promised, remember?”

Luther doesn’t know what Vanya promised, but it’s enough for her to step back to stand behind his shoulder, tugging her hand from his grip and instead wrapping it around his arm. Five goes along with the movement gladly, gallantly even, a shadow of a smirk crossing his face. 

The dynamics between his siblings, Luther decides, are for them only. He shrugs, approaching the older Five with soft steps, trying as usual to make his grotesquely large body smaller. Soon enough, he beckons the other two forward.

And if he is thrown off by the murderous glare old Five turns on his equally irascible teenage self, that is nothing compared to when Vanya peeks at them over Five’s shoulder.

“Vanya,” the old Five breathes, stepping forward like his body has suddenly been pulled into orbit. Luther watches the way he nearly drops the briefcase in awe, fumbling awkwardly before he takes another step. The way he is looking at Vanya is the way that Luther knows he’s looked at Allison, but somehow more reverent, more desperate… like a holy man who has gone without God for decades, only to see God rushing towards him like a brilliant sun. The realization hits Luther like a freight train, and there is only one question capable of running through his mind:

How long has Five been in love with Vanya?

“Hi, Five,” Vanya says shyly, still firmly behind the other Five’s shoulder. She tucks her hair behind her ear, looking him up and down. “I like the mustache,” she offers, like the small, gentle smile that follows.

Old Five, the nervous, cold man who he had just spoken to, honest-to-god chuckles, stealing the space between them with another step. He is moving slightly to the right too, approaching her so that young Five is not directly between them. The younger version is in the process of brushing his fingers over his upper lip with a frown, but his eyes are trained on his counterpart like a predator. The older one doesn’t seem to care, but Luther knows his brother well enough to recognize that Five is probably more aware of his surroundings than might appear at first glance. 

“That picture in your book didn’t do you justice, sweetheart,” old Five says gently. “You look radiant.” He’s not too close to her, yet, but he still lifts a shaking hand, like he is reaching for her face. Like he is already imagining the sensation of her skin against his.

“Oh, well,” Vanya replies, takes a tiny step toward him, “I finally got off my pills-“

The step is evidently, quite literally, a step too far, and young Five arches his shoulders in a move that Luther now recognizes as his  _ someone’s-about-to-die  _ pose. “That’s enough,” he grits out, dropping Vanya’s hand from his arm and instead circling that arm around her waist, pulling her against him. She falls into his lanky body, bracing a hand against his chest. “We didn’t come here for this,” he says, tilting his head in a false show of casual arrogance. “This isn’t yours yet, old man.”

Old Five arches a brow. “I rather think it’s not yours yet. What are you, thirteen…?”

Vanya rolls her eyes in a show of emotion that Luther is completely shocked by, breaking free from young Five and taking two large steps to come to stand in front of old Five. Young Five’s arm flops to his side, his mouth hanging open in shock. The older Five is obviously hyperventilating at her proximity, and she raises her arms, slow and cautious.

“This okay?” She asks. He nods vigorously, and she rocks forward on the balls of her feet, wrapping her arms around him.

He holds her back, breathing her in with his eyes wide open, intent on his younger self. Luther holds his breath. “Now, angel, tell me why you’re here, and I’ll help the best I can.”

Young Five growls at that offer, surprise having moved quickly into the territory of anger. “She doesn’t need your help,” he hisses. “Vanya, you can’t trust him, c’mon, you know I’m the one-“

Vanya cuts him off. “He’s you, Five. Of course I trust him.”

Young Five looks like he doesn’t know what to do with that, but there is a faint blue glow in his eyes, and Luther realizes this could go ugly. Fast.

“Okay guys, for now, we’re trying to save the world. Maybe we can chill out?”

Both the Fives grumble, and Vanya takes a step back. She looks nervously at Luther. “Is this the Paradox Psychosis?”

Luther doesn’t think so, but he doesn’t tell Vanya that. No need to let her know that he’s seen jealousy. He’s seen two men on the verge of killing each other over something precious, and this is definitely that. “I think maybe you should sit on my side of the booth,” he says kindly, and she nods after shooting a long look at young Five.

“If you touch her again, Luther…” He trails off, ignoring the old Five’s indignant questions about what the hell he means.

“Noted,” Luther agrees, and they slide into the booth.

Vanya leans forward, smiling softly at the older Five. “It’s about your briefcase,” she begins softly, “and how you get back to me.” She clasps her hands on the table, twisting her fingers uncertainly. 

From the rapt look in older Five’s eyes, and the burning jealousy in the other’s, Luther thinks they probably have this in the bag. Well, as long as homicidal rage doesn’t exacerbate the fact that both Fives seem like they could happily skin each other if it meant getting to hold his powerful little sister’s hand.

To Luther’s surprise, the metaphor is on point. The older Five lifts his hand like he’s making to reach for Vanya’s clasped ones, but the other Five slaps his hand away. 

“Five,” Vanya chides. “You held my hand the whole way here.” 

Five scoffs. “That’s beside the point, Vanya. He doesn’t deserve your kindness. This is the Five who left you.”

Vanya studies him for a moment, and Luther is surprised at the fire in his timid little sister’s eyes. “You left me too,” she points out. 

Five’s gaze goes from jealous and annoyed to downright stormy, eyes black and narrow as he clambers out of his brown, upholstered seat and onto his knees, leaning across the table. He braces himself on the white-painted, shiny wooden surface, back arched so he can hover over their sister. Luther thinks he looks a bit like a peeved cat, but decides not to say anything. 

“ _I’m_ the one who found you,” he reminds her, rich and low and dark as he enunciates every syllable with crisp diction, hands gripping the edge of the table. Vanya turns red, shrinking back even as she doesn’t break their gaze. “In your apartment, the corn field, _the_ _farmhouse_.” Both Vanya and Luther shudder at his tone, and Luther not for the first time wonders what happened to make Vanya cling to Five so closely in that alley. “We’re here for the briefcase,” he snarls, “and if anyone at this table forgets this important fact again, I’d be happy to remind him. Or _her._ ” 

Luther swallows as Five hovers over Vanya for another long moment before he retreats, though his presence remains. “Okay, now that - now that we’re clear… Vanya, you were going to explain to Five what we’re doing here.” 

Vanya nods hesitantly, detailing their plight. The younger Five had worked out quite a plan, and Vanya delivers it more perfectly than Luther ever could have, with her warm, doe eyes intent on the older Five. Once she is finished, the old Five nods fondly in her direction, but the fondness disappears as his eyes flicker to his counterpart. Then he looks cold, calculating, and Luther is struck by the realization that this old man  _ is _ his brother. That fondness, that softness, is for Vanya only, and the complete lack of emotion in old Five’s face as he assesses his options sends a shiver up Luther’s spine. 

“I’ll give you the briefcase, but I want something in return,” he says finally, gaze returning to Vanya. She smiles apprehensively at him, and he smiles back. 

“I imagined you would,” Five cuts in. “Now, I’ve perfected the equations you’re about to use-”

“None of that nonsense,” he dismisses. “In exchange for the briefcase, I’d like an hour alone with our sister.” 

Young Five stands up so quickly that the table wobbles, in real danger of upending itself. “Like  _ hell _ you-”

Luther braces himself to physically hold the Fives apart before they get thrown out of the bar, but Vanya has already reached across the table, grasping the younger Five by the forearm. He turns his heated gaze to her, and Vanya holds her ground, though Luther can see her hand shaking. 

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Five considers this, giving her a short, clipped nod. He pulls his arm away from her grasp, taking hold of her above her elbow and leading her to the entrance of the bar. Luther watches old Five take a nearby glass of water and down it in several gulps, and he realizes they only have a short amount of time before they need to separate the Fives. Homicidal rage is the last thing he needs to cut into the party right now. 

He turns to look at his siblings. Five is hovering slightly over Vanya, shoulders arched. His hand is still holding her arm, and Luther watches as he cuts off whatever plea she is making by bringing his other hand up to hold her chin between his thumb and his forefinger. She falls silent, and Five begins his own, more aggressive argument in return. 

It makes a pit of discomfort form in his stomach, the sight of Five in his teenage body talking to his sister this way, the sheer power and authority in his posture subsuming the physical features that suggest his age. It makes them almost obsolete, but it doesn’t erase the inherent taboo in the way he looks at Vanya, like he wants to devour her whole. Luther adds getting Five his older body back to the list of things they need to talk about, though he’s not sure the image of any iteration of his brother looking like he wants to jump Vanya at the first opportunity would be any better. 

His train of thought is broken when Five and Vanya return to the table, Five’s hand at the base of her spine. They don’t sit back down, and Vanya turns to the older Five. “We accept,” she says, directing a small smile his way, almost like she is caught between encouraging him and  _ not  _ encouraging the Five at her side. Her eyes are bright for the first time since Luther has seen her in this timeline, maybe ever, and it’s clear to all of them that she’s intrigued by the idea of spending time with this Five. 

The younger Five, on the other hand, looks like he could happily kill them all and skip out of this bar with Vanya on his arm, but he hasn’t acted on that impulse yet, so Luther tries not to think about it. 

“One second over your hour, which began, by the way, the moment I agreed to this about twenty-three seconds ago, and this ends. Badly,” he warns. “You will meet Luther and I back here, and if she has one hair out of place, you won’t like the parts of  _ your _ body you find out of place.” 

Old Five raises an eyebrow. “Oh, is that all?” He says airily, standing and offering his arm to Vanya. 

Vanya smiles at him, reaching out before she pauses. She turns back to the younger Five, twining their hands together and squeezing. “Everything will be fine,” she promises, and almost as if before she can think better of it, she rises up on the balls of her feet as she presses a friendly, quick kiss to the younger Five’s cheek. Five grumbles when she turns and takes the older Five’s arm, but Luther can see the calming effect that one soft touch has had on him. 

Old Five smiles down at his sister, but his eyes flick up to his counterpart, then to Luther. “I’d like Luther, as well. For my hour.” 

The younger Five narrows his eyes. “What are you planning, old man?” He hisses. The older Five just gives him a faint, gloating smile, before he gestures Luther forward. 

Luther follows Vanya and Five out of the restaurant. He spares a quick glance for the other Five, who is sitting at the bar, clutching a tumbler of scotch so tightly that his knuckles are white. The bartender is serving him almost subconsciously; the aura of dominance and fury is so overwhelming that Luther doesn’t even blame him. His eyes are following Vanya out, dark and angry. 

Luther turns back to old Five, who throws a smug grin over his shoulder. He tosses an arm around Vanya when she tries to look back at his younger counterpart, keeping her firmly pressed into his side.

Luther hears glass shatter behind him. He’s felt confusion and uncertainty before - the pinnacle of doubt after being tossed out, alone, into Dallas in 1963. That’s nothing compared to the apprehension and terrifying certainty that this whole thing is going to go south fast. 

And he has a front seat to the whole catastrophe. 

-

Vanya grasped Five’s arm, glancing up at him and studying his features, not unpleasant at all but different to the version of Five she had grown accustomed to at this point. Vanya wanted to catch his gaze, but he stared resolutely ahead of them. 

“Why is Luther coming along?” Vanya asked, keeping her voice quiet in hopes that Luther would not hear this conversation. For her, she had seen Five before this conversation, but she understood that he would want at least some of this exchange to be private. 

He flitted his gaze back to Luther before quietly explaining. 

Vanya’s eyes went wide, not knowing how to process what he was saying. A part of her - the part of her that had lay dormant after leaving the house and thus ending the nightly ritual of making peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches and flicking a light on for him to be guided home - was exuberant. The other part of her was apprehensive. 

The fact of the matter? They needed that briefcase. When they travel back to the bar in an hour, she hoped that Five could see this as practical thinking. 

(Why she agreed to this though, it was not a strategy to go home. It was because when she was young and still hopeful and optimistic that one day her life would be better, she always imagined that day she’d have Five by her side.)

If Five asked, she would simply say that she was appeasing the version of him that stood beside her. If she spoke in such a way that it was a calculated move to take them all home, he would certainly have to understand. 

Even if it meant that she had just married someone else. 

Luther, apparently, was to act as a witness. She also strongly suspected that he was meant to look threatening enough to some poor, disgruntled Dallas city hall employee that they’d think ‘fuck it, I work a shitty government job that I am beginning to suspect might actually be purgatory anyways’ and give a stamp of approval for a marriage certificate. 

Five must have seen the hesitation in her eyes because he asked, “Do you not want this, Vanya?”

She heaved a sigh, closing her eyes for a few moments. She  _ did  _ want this. She had wanted this for many years. 

Accepting whatever consequences that would result in an hour, she opened her eyes and spoke, “I want this.” 

Five’s eyes filled with a familiar softness. “I have…” his voice trailed off. “I have so many things I want to say to you, sweetheart. I wish we had more time.” 

She squeezed his arm, wondering how the difference of two weeks could change Five so entirely. Maybe the old phrase was true, about absence making the heart grow fonder. 

Or maybe he  _ was  _ capable of being as heinous as the man waiting for her at the bar, he just was subtle enough to not act in any way she would deem reprehensible. 

(It was possible that both of these were true, and that he was acting differently simply because he was speaking to her.)

Despite trying to deduce his motives, she wanted to ask for something from him that she didn’t know if she  _ should  _ want, but she knew he would not reprimand her for asking. 

“Can you…?” Her face flushed. It was ridiculous. Five was not trying at all to hide how he felt; she didn’t need to feel ashamed for wanting him. He clearly wasn’t ashamed of wanting her. 

He waited patiently for her to continue. She wondered if he was marking off the time that they were missing in her struggling to speak. 

The thought that she was wasting precious time she could have with him urged her to speak. “Five, can you kiss me?”

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, his lips were on her own. Startled at the almost ticklish feeling of his facial hair against her, she curls her lips into a smile, giggling just a little. 

Vanya stiffened at the distressed whimper of Luther behind her. 

“How much time do we have left?” she asked Five. 

“Approximately fifty six minutes and forty nine seconds.” 

Meaning in three minutes she had kissed this version of Five and, technically, gotten engaged to him. 

The Five waiting for her was going to kill him. 

Five called over for Luther, and he had them both hang onto him. In an instant, they were in front of Dallas’s city hall.

Vanya smiled demurely at Five’s triumphant beam. Luther appeared to be contemplating the effects of just ending it all right there. 

“Are you about to do what-“

“Yes, I’m doing exactly that,” Five interrupted Luther. “And you’re here to be our witness.”

“I don’t want to be your accomplice,” Luther sputtered. “Vanya,  _ please _ , make him change his mind!”

Vanya frowned at Luther. “I’m not going to do that.” 

Five’s lips quirked, impressed with her. She felt herself starting to grin back when Luther implored, “You two are going to get all of us  _ murdered _ . Well, he might spare Vanya. Maybe. But I don’t want to die! I haven’t lived a long life! I promised Allison I’d take her to so many museums, Five!”

Five scowled at Luther, saw Vanya’s reproaching look, and schooled his features into neutrality. “Luther, don’t you want to be here when we get married?” 

Luther looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. “I,” he started.

Five cut him off brusquely, “We are losing time, Luther. Do you want me to find somebody else as a witness?”

Luther hesitated just a second before shaking his head. “I’ll do it,” he told him, sounding like he’d just announced his own death sentence. 

Which, to be fair to Luther, he absolutely might have. 

Vanya couldn’t care though. She and Five walked inside of the city hall building (she was pretty certain that he had only actually walked inside to hold open the door for her.) She kissed him again before they hurried off to the floor they needed to go.

It took around six minutes for Five and Luther to convince someone to get the judge to marry them. Vanya watched as Luther glowered ahead of him, perfectly aware that Luther was irritated with Five, but the effect was roughly the same on the very exhausted yet horrified worker. Vanya had honestly not expected them to budge, but she considered that the man was especially unnerved by Five, who entered the office with Vanya through means of teleportation. 

Vanya felt nervousness fill her stomach, and Five raised his brows at her, sensing her question before she could ask it. “Forty two minutes,” he whispered in her ear, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. 

Vanya stopped herself from asking if he would take her with him. She knew he couldn’t, and that it wouldn’t help her to ask, anyways. 

He seemed to notice he had not eased her anxiety. “You want to know something?” Five asked her. 

She raised her brows in question. 

He reached into the pocket of his suit, pulling out a ring. 

“You planned for this?”  _ How could he have? _

He shook his head. “No, I… I have been planning to leave the Commission for a while. I mean, obviously, I didn’t just presume, but…”

His voice was flustered. She wondered how often he spoke these days, let alone communicated heavy feelings. 

“Thank you,” she said, feeling her face heat up. “Five, I…”

“What is it?” 

“Are you guys ready?” Luther asked, interrupting Vanya from speaking. She was grateful, mainly due to the fact that she did not know how Five would react to what she wanted to tell him. 

Five, however, appeared to be reining in the irritation at Luther interrupting her. Before he could speak, Vanya said, “Yes, we are.”

Luther nodded. 

She glanced at Five’s watch. Forty minutes. They had to be quick about this. 

She eyed the ring in Five’s palm, wondering if it had a counterpart. Vanya was surprised at the realization that it likely would fit, considering that he hadn’t seen her in decades, but she didn’t openly question it. 

The judge looked somewhere between annoyed and frightened. Clearly, his assistant had let him know about the group’s eccentricities. 

“Do either of you have vows prepared?” Clearly, the man had qualms with people having prepared vows. Vanya could not imagine why, and she was also worried Five might strangle the guy. 

“We’ll just do the, uh… regular ones?” Vanya phrased it like a question, but she knew that if Five spoke before her that it likely wouldn’t be pleasant. 

The judge sighed. Without ceremony, he had them repeat vows to each other, talking in a bored tone that dripped with condescension. Vanya gripped Five’s arm, digging in her nails in hopes of keeping him from reaching over and throttling the judge. She felt it wouldn’t be productive for anyone. 

Only as Five settled the ring on her finger, fitting pretty near perfectly did he seem to relax. He handed her the ring meant for him, and she placed it on him, listening to the flutter of his heartbeat as she did.

Five’s patience went out the window as the judge gestured vaguely at them, and she realized he was trying to articulate that they were now married. She frowned at Five, who clearly wanted to say something, quickly yanking him down to kiss her before he could.

When they pulled away from one another, they had twenty-eight minutes left. 

They left the office. Five was eyeing Vanya, and she blushed. Subtly, she nodded, knowing what he was thinking.

“Luther,” he stated, actually managing to sound calm. 

Vanya didn’t trust whatever he was about to say. “Luther, could you go back to Five? The, uh… other one?”

Luther looked between them. She couldn’t tell if he deduced what was going on. 

“Why are you asking me to leave?” Luther asked, voice strained. He was attempting to sound calm, but he was incapable at this point clearly.

“Seriously?” 

Vanya sighed at Five’s complete lack of tact. Luther wouldn’t want to see this, if only to have plausible deniability. 

“We just need you there to check on him,” Vanya said gently. “Maybe it’ll help avoid more conflict…”

Five snorted beside her. Clearly, he didn’t think so. Vanya didn’t, either, but she needed Luther away. 

Luther, thankfully, listened though he did mutter under his breath about it. 

When he was gone, Vanya asked how much time they had again. 

“About twenty-five minutes.” 

She bit her lip. “We can go somewhere more private, right?”

“Of course,” he told her quickly. “Hold onto me.”

She understood why he was asking, mentally preparing herself for a wave of nausea and dizziness from teleporting as she embraced him. 

She couldn’t tell precisely where they landed. It was an alley, and she didn’t hear anybody in the background. It was about as private as they could do right now. 

Five cleared his throat. She wondered if he was as nervous as she was. 

“Five?”

“Yes, dear?”

She closed her eyes. When Five had come home to her the night of their father’s funeral, more than anything, she had just wanted to truly  _ talk  _ to her best friend. 

“I know that we have such a small amount of time here, but can we just talk? For a little bit?” When he didn’t answer immediately, she added, “I know this is your end of the deal, that you get what you want out of this time, but…”

“Vanya,” he gripped her shoulder, sinking with her down the brick wall. “Of  _ course _ we can. I want you to be happy, first and foremost.”

“What do you think happened?” Vanya blurted. “For you to change so much in less than a month?”

He scowled at the mention of the other Five. “Well, you know, time travel does funny things to the mind.” 

Was he saying that to cultivate the seed of doubt in her mind or was he telling her what he genuinely suspected?

She pressed her forehead to his own, deciding it didn’t matter. “I missed you, Five.”

He brushed her hair with his fingers. “I missed you too, V.” 

“I used to make sandwiches for you,” she admitted, flushing. “Peanut butter and marshmallow? I’d leave a light on… Are you still afraid of the dark?”

He laughed. “Not so much anymore, no.”

“I’m shocked you didn’t say something to the effect of ‘ _ I  _ wasn’t  _ afraid of the dark, Vanya _ .’” 

He smiled before his face grew serious again. “Vanya?”

“Yeah?” 

“In your book, you called me your ‘sole confidante,’” he started, glancing away quickly. “I just want you to know, you were mine too. You’ve always been my best friend, and you always will be.” 

And then Vanya was crying. He made a concerned noise, asking what was wrong. 

“I just don’t understand,” Vanya said, trying to hide her face from him. Her memories had come back, and she was experiencing an influx of emotions, not stifled by the meds or the lack of memories anymore. She was supposed to be on a mission, to get this briefcase right now, but all she wanted was to beg him to bargain for more time.

He knew what she was referring to, of course. Five always understood her. 

If the other Five really  _ had  _ lost his mind, was it even safe to be with him and let this one leave? 

She wiped the tears from her cheek stubbornly, not wanting to take away this moment that he bargained with a lifeline to their family. He was giving up his  _ own  _ lifeline for this, technically. “I’m sorry. There’s just been… a lot.”

He pulled her closer to him. It seemed impossible, but he managed. “I know.” 

“Five,” she whispered. 

He studied her features intently. Could he see what she wanted? 

Could he tell her what, exactly, that even  _ was? _

She crawled into his lap. 

“Vanya,” he breathed, voice reverent.

She pressed her lips to the man that she had just married, in exchange for her family’s lives. 

At least, this is what she would tell the Five waiting for her. This is what she told herself as she ground against the growing bulge in his trousers. 

She was doing this for her family. She was ensuring they were safe. She was saving them. It had been her own fault that they’d gotten trapped in Dallas after all, hadn’t it?

“Touch me,” she pleaded. “Five, please, this… this would make me happy.”

It was a rough parroting of his words, and he understood. He ran a hand over her spine, making her jerk against his hips. 

His lips found her neck, and when she giggled at the sensation of his mustache this time, it ended in a moan as he nipped against the skin. She made an unintelligible noise. 

“Vanya, could you do something for me?” 

_ “Yes.” _ She wasn’t sure if she was moaning encouragement or agreeing to what he was asking. 

He flicked his eyes up to her own, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Tell me that you love me, Vanya.” 

It wasn’t hard at all to tell him that she did. “I’ve loved you since we were young, you know that.”

He blinked. “Vanya. I need to tell you-“

She rolled her hips again, rougher in the movement then. “You don’t have to,” she gasped out. “We’ll be okay.” 

For a second, she thought she saw guilt flash into his eyes. When she pressed down against him, whimpering his name, his eyes clouded with desire instead. 

_ It would be easier _ , she thought to herself.  _ If we were not entirely honest in this moment.  _

Because if she was being completely honest, both to him and herself, she would voice what she wanted. She could not do that, no. 

“I love you,” she repeated, guiding his palm under her shirt. “Five, I love you.” 

“I love you too, angel,” he mumbled, moving his mouth just underneath her jaw, sucking a hickey into the skin. 

“He’ll kill you,” Vanya said, but she tipped her chin, wanting to look into the mirror when this was all done, wanting to confirm that this hadn’t all been just a fantasy or a dream. If he set that mark to her skin, he would have been real. 

She had waited seventeen years for Five to come home. Part of her could not fathom Five really ever had come home. 

“Oh, darling, do you really think he  _ could _ kill me?” Five retorted. 

_ Oh, yes, I absolutely do. He’s in a body with an excess of energy, you’ve exacerbated his anger, and he doesn’t have anything he wants from the world.  _

“Of course not,” she lied. 

She thought of the way the other Five had threatened what would happen if she came back to him hurt. The bruise he would see… 

She shoved her hand down Five’s pants, distracting his mouth off her neck as it opened in shock. 

“Kiss me, Five.”

He did, roughly. She gripped him into her hand, letting him slip his tongue into her mouth. 

She wanted to ask then, wanted to let the words spill from her lips and for him to capture them on his own. An image of Five’s fist clenching a glass made the words halt before she could utter them. 

It turned out that she didn’t have to ask at all. He did it for her. 

She stiffened. It was an odd thing, to regain her memories after having them forcibly taken from her consciousness. When she and Five had been eleven, and Father had upped the dose of her pills, and her words, as she spoke them, sometimes slipped out of her grasp like reaching into water to pull out a speck of dust. She knew it was  _ there _ , she just knew that she could not reach it. 

She knew that this Five would try to kill her in less than two weeks.

When Five came to her apartment eight days before the apocalypse, he had been hell-bent on solving it. Vanya had noted, easily, that he was not the same person who left seventeen years prior. She had even suggested he go to therapy. Five had been  _ right _ about the apocalypse, but he had still not been the same. 

Five wouldn’t have entirely changed in that span of time. 

He had been capable of killing her the whole time. 

The Five who had hesitated, who had backed down? The image of him stood stark in her mind of his clenched fists, of his staggered breathing, of his many conflicting emotions clear against his face as he had stood in front of her and told her they had to congregate with the others. Five had been hellbent on getting her to that alley, but she knew that it tore the most fragile part of him to see her try to fight it.

He  _ could _ have killed her, but, in that moment, she had known he  _ wouldn’t.  _

Staring up at her, Five repeated the offer, “Go back with me, Vanya.” 

Vanya was not stupid. Five would not love her if she were a complete moron. Because he valued her, and he had not seen a hopeless cause in her, he would often explain to her concepts that he’d scoff if anyone else asked him to do so. 

She had learned many things from her brother, whether or not he knew she had always been paying her utmost attention. She learned how to read expressions, how to coax words from lips. She knew how to spin her words, manipulate them into concern as she asked, “Five, what if he hurts us? If I leave with you, surely he would.”

When he assures her that it would be fine, she knew Five would never assure something he didn’t clearly know the outcome of. He was too practical for what he’d amount to empty promises. 

“Say I go with you,” Vanya mumbled, not letting herself stop her movements. He couldn’t suspect her thoughts. Vanya, because she wanted him to believe her and trust her completely, imagined how it would look if she  _ did  _ go. Would her counterpart be there? Would her siblings try to kill her if her control fell from her hands? Would  _ he? _ “How would you  _ know  _ we would be safe?”

“I would ensure it, Vanya. I wouldn’t let harm come to you.” 

_ Unless I interfere with your mission to stop the end of the world _ , she thought.  _ Unless I dare doubt you for an instant, unless you leave me behind while I’m still vulnerable, unless I’m fucking a killer who you’d never bother to find until it interfered with your mission. _

The Five waiting at the bar had told her no one was more important than the end of the world, yet he prioritized the very cause of the end of the world in the end. She would likely always cause it, but he would not hurt her. He had shown that in backing down. That Five believed her more important than the end of the world. 

And this Five? She had absolutely no idea at all. 

“How much time do we have?” Vanya asked. 

He glanced at his watch. “Fuck. We have to go.”

They adjusted their clothing before she leaned against him. 

They landed just thirty feet from where they were supposed to approach Five. 

“What will you decide, Vanya?” her husband asked her. 

She studied his features, furrowing her brows and hoping she looked small as she blinked up at him. Mouth dry, she craned her neck to the Five thirty feet in front of her. 

Vanya knew when she saw him- pacing furiously, jaw clenched, wild-eyed - she’d made the right decision. 

  
  


-

  
  


“You were fourteen seconds late,” Five growls, marching up to them, “and I made a promise.” 

Luther gulps as Vanya steps forward, in front of the older Five, holding up her hands. “Five, wait-” 

Five stops short, sharp eyes immediately finding both the hickey and the ring on her finger. “ _ You _ ,” he exhales, and then he’s leaping into action. 

He jumps past Vanya and half onto older Five, elbow around his neck. “You’ve taken liberties that were not yours to take,” he hisses, both the Fives tumbling back onto the pavement.

“Wait, this - this isn’t the 1800s, Five,” Vanya pleads with no success, before she turns her big, doe eyes on Luther. Luther sighs, but nods, moving in and separating them with one smooth yank to both of their blazers. The Fives look at each other meaningfully, but this time it’s Vanya who holds them both by the sleeve opposite him. “If you attack Luther, _ I  _ will attack. And no one wants that.”

The younger Five’s eyes gleam. “Well,” he begins, smirking, and Luther considers the danger passed, dropping them both. 

The younger Five recovers quickly, taking Vanya back into his arms and his orbit. His hands slide up to grasp her upper arms, squeezing. “Did he hurt you?” He insists, eyes intent on her. 

Luther watches as Vanya pauses, searching his expression. She looks uncertain, but determined as she maps out his features. Luther’s heart pounds at the answering uncertainty and desperation pouring from Five’s body language. It’s a strange, awe-inspiring kind of honesty that seems almost unnatural. Even the older Five is silent as he watches the proceedings. Five is still gazing at her, holding her, waiting for an answer. 

Suddenly, Vanya turns soft and gentle. “No,” she replies, not attempting to squirm out of his tight grip. “I’m fine, Five.” From the way that the younger Five’s shoulders slump, his own smile - not smirk - peeking out at the corner of his mouth, something very, very important has just happened. Luther has no idea what it is, but it has clearly given the younger Five a fresh burst of energy.

He drops his hands from her arms to grasp her hands, pulling her away from the other two. “C’mon, I need a word,” he encourages, and she follows with a quick, regretful glance back at older Five. 

Luther turns to the other Five so that the older man has to keep his back to the couple, and he pats himself on the back at his success. 

“I asked her to come with me,” old Five says by way of starting the conversation. Luther jumps, half because of the abrupt comment and half because the younger Five is tugging gently at the ring on Vanya’s finger. 

“Why would you tell me that?” He hisses. It’s an honest question and also a distraction. 

Old Five gives him an intent look. “Would you believe me? If I said I was better than him?” He nudges his head backward towards the younger Five, who is gazing beseechingly at Vanya, holding out something he has cupped protectively in the palm of his hand. “Would you help me convince her? If I told you that there’s something wrong with him?”

Luther refocuses, knowing that whatever this is is more important than whatever the hell Five is asking of Vanya twenty feet away. He spends a moment pondering each of the four questions. He wants to say yes. He so badly wants to say yes. This Five is so clearly an adult. More poised, in control. Kind to Vanya where the younger Five has been uncompromising and harsh. 

But Luther can’t ignore the signs.

The brief flickers of coldness. The eagerness to turn Vanya to his side. The way he smirked at himself over Vanya’s shoulders as they embraced. 

“Five, you are. Well. There’s something not right in either of your heads,” Luther admits. “But I trust that one, at least with Vanya. And you were trying to make him jealous.” 

Five smirks. “Well, Luther, it looks like you’ve finally grown a brain cell or two.” Luther gapes at him, surprised and reluctantly proud of the praise. “And a man can have more than one motivation. You shouldn’t doubt my love for Vanya, nor his. But you  _ should _ be concerned how far he’d - we’d - go to assure it.” He pauses, turning as the other two approach them. Five has his hands in his pockets, grinning smugly, and the older Five gives Vanya a long, considering look before a knowing, regretful smile spreads across his face.

“Five,” Vanya begins, looking back at the younger Five before refocusing. “I-”

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to explain yourself to me. But I’d like an extra few moments of your time, if he agrees, that is,” he adds, nodding to Five.

Vanya flushes red, and embarrassment isn’t the only emotion there. “That’s not-” 

“Isn’t it?” Old Five interrupts, narrowing his eyes as his younger counterpart brings up a hand to spread across the small of Vanya’s back. 

“She doesn’t owe you anything,” Five bites out, but Vanya brings up a hand, stopping him from saying anything else. Instead, she just nods, jerking her head to the side. She stops a short distance away, and Luther wonders if there is a reason she sticks so close. Could the older Five try to take her without her consent?

“Should we-” Luther begins.

Five nods, sharp and short. “Like a hawk.” He widens his stance, eyes trained on Vanya. Luther thinks and discards the idea that he might be trying to read lips, but after another few seconds of consideration, he decides it’s a valid hypothesis. 

_ Distraction _ , he thinks, though Five doesn’t look nearly as furious as he did a mere five minutes ago. “Are you angry? That they got married?”  _ That I helped _ , he doesn’t say. 

Five chuckles, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Oh, you’d think that, wouldn’t you?”

Luther just stares at him. “Yes, actually, I would,” he says simply. 

Five tsks. “Oh Luther. He told you what he asked her, didn’t he?” Luther blanches, but he nods sheepishly. “If you think this is about a simple, barely legal ceremony, then you haven’t been paying attention.”

Luther feels a twinge of irritation. “Then spell it out for me,” he gripes. 

Five still watches Vanya and older self carefully, but his eyes narrow. “He’s me. Older. More dignified.” He pauses. “ _ Ostensibly _ softer. Meanwhile, I’m stuck in this prepubescent body and too tired to pretend to be  _ nice  _ any longer. And yet, she chose me.” He preens, smiling widely at Vanya as she turns and walks back to them with the older Five trailing several feet behind. “Despite everything,” he adds lowly, gaze trained on the small distance between the couple approaching them.

Luther feels a twinge of  _ something  _ in his chest. There’s still information he doesn’t know about what’s going on. “Five, is there something-” 

“Vanya,” Five interrupts. “We need to go.” 

Vanya nods. “Uh, turn around?” She requests. 

“No,” he says simply.

Vanya rolls her eyes. “Okay, remember I warned you.” She turns to the older Five, pressing a sweet, gentle kiss on his lips. Luther immediately sticks his hand out and grasps the younger Five’s shoulder, holding him in place just in time to hear him growl low in his throat. The older Five kisses her back, of course, attempting to deepen the connection, but Vanya pulls away. She shakes her head, looking altogether affectionate and apologetic, and steps back. The younger Five claims her hand. 

“Be safe,” she orders the man she had just kissed, before turning to Five and Luther. “I’ll wait in the car,” she adds, “Luther, watch them carefully. If I see anything aggressive from either of you, I will ground you. Literally.”

Both the Fives’ expressions briefly glaze over at that image. Vanya just turns on her heel with an innocent smile, walking over to the passenger side of the car and getting in. 

Luther clears his throat: “So, the suitcase?”

The older Five holds it out, and the younger Five reaches for it. Once he has it in his grip, the older Five pulls him in. 

“You’re hiding something from her,” the older Five says, posture going from calm to threatening in zero to sixty. “I know that look in your eye, and she does too. And when she finds out whatever is bad enough that you are actually concerned she’s going to leave you? She will leave. And I’ll find a way to be there. Or another Five. Any incarnation of us would do a better job than you.” 

Five begins to glow faintly, his hands curling so tightly around the suitcase handle that his knuckles turn white. “If you were about to lose her, even to her own choices, you don’t know what you’d do,” he snarls, and Luther presses his lips together to prevent himself from beginning his own interrogation. Five grins, yanking hard on the suitcase until it slips from the other Five’s hands, turning and pushing it into Luther’s arms. “She’s not just our sweet, timid, little sister. She’s magnificent.  _ Glorious _ . No other Five could handle her.” 

He begins to walk away, leaving Luther to follow behind. “I hope you enjoyed having your mouth on her neck,” he calls over his shoulder. “Guess where I get to put mine?”

Luther turns back, but the older Five is already gone. He finally starts to relax, gently setting the suitcase in the truck and climbing into the backseat. 

Five clambers into the driver’s seat, starting the car with a deft turn of the keys. He doesn’t start to drive yet, instead turning to look Vanya up and down, as if trying to reread his favorite book that spontaneously added a new chapter. He picks up her hand, curling it low around his thigh, close to his knee. 

“What changed your mind?” He says lowly, softly, and Luther tries to sink into the car seat so he can listen. 

Vanya is silent for a long moment, then: “You stopped.” 

Luther huffs. Cryptic, much? 

Five sighs. “I thought it might be something to that effect.” He turns serious. “I would always stop, Vanya. I’ll always protect you, even from yourself. No matter who’s in my way.” 

Vanya peers over at him. “I know that now,” she says, sounding equally relieved and apprehensive. Five nods firmly, and puts the car in drive. He pulls onto the road, but Luther suspects he is still looking at Vanya out of the corner of his eye. 

“Five, is there any way you can get your body back?” Luther blurts out, unable to help himself.

This shocks both his siblings for a long moment, before Vanya turns bright red and looks down at her hand on his thigh. Five brings his hand down on top of hers, holding it where it is. He smirks at Luther through the rearview mirror. 

“Uncomfortable, bro?” Five teases, before arching his neck and re-straightening. His hand tightens over Vanya’s. “Me too,” he says under his breath, and Luther throws up a little in his mouth. 

“Five!” Vanya chides, looking back at Luther. “You have  _ nothing _ to worry about,” she emphasizes. 

Five scoffs. “You underestimate me, dear.” His voice is caustic, but Luther can see the way his thumb rubs Vanya’s knuckles, even as he doesn’t let up his grip in the slightest. 

Vanya doesn’t try to move her hand again, but she does look up at him, chin lifted. “I think you’re underestimating me.” She keeps her gaze firm, eyes narrowed before she lets them flash a brilliant white.

“Vanya!” Luther yelps, but Five just grins. It’s huge and terrible and dark, but there’s a redeeming edge of reverence and adoration that gives Luther hope that this all won’t turn out horribly. 

“Oh, that’s impossible, sweetheart,” Five purrs, leaning back with his one hand on the wheel, knees spread haphazardly, clearly enjoying both Vanya’s touch and her burst of world-ending power. 

Luther sighs. It’s only a five minute drive, sure, but he’s pretty sure this isn’t the last time he’s going to be forced to witness these moments. 

Vanya shoots him an apologetic glance and a small smile, something that would’ve never happened maybe even an hour ago. He realizes they now have a shared adventure, a special moment, which is more than he’s ever shared with his littlest sister before now. Maybe she can even forgive him for locking her away. Maybe he can begin to understand her now that he’s seen she’s more than a vulnerable mess. Vanya actually has a bit of a spine, and Luther’s looking forward to seeing the non-apocalyptic kind of toughness from her. 

Well. Maybe it isn’t all bad. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! I had so much fun working with Liv, due to both loving her writing and loving sharing ideas with her! She has been such a great addition to the fiveya writers, and she’s also just such a sweet person in general! I hope you all enjoyed the end result, and I’m hoping Liv wants to collab for future fics because I deeply enjoy chaotic conversations of mood rings, kink bingo, and Phil the Postmates driver (no, I will not give context.) 
> 
> A quick reminder that Fiveya week will happen from November 1st through November 7th, and the prompts are memories, dance/train, childhood, sparrow AU, guilt, endings/beginnings, and free choice. For full details, check out the fivevanya blog on tumblr. —Tori/fiveyaaas


End file.
